Mitchelstown News from The Avondhu

MUSIC FESTIVAL LAUNCHED IN STYLE

IndiePendence 2009 was officially launched at a special night in Cyprus Avenue, Cork last Thursday, June 4 where some of the many bands playing the festival gave a taster of what music fans can expect in Mitchelstown on the August bank holiday weekend.

The two day event will move from its original venue in Mitchelstown’s New Square to its new home in O’Connell Park where, for the first time, IndiePendence will be a ticketed festival.

Despite sharing the August bank holiday weekend with the Castlepalooza and Cork By Southwest (CXSW) festivals, IndiePendence organiser Shane Dunne is confident the Mitchelstown event will be a success.

“The special offer tickets for IndiePendence are €39, Castlepalooza is €89, CXSW is €50 for one day. We have a far superior line-up to either festival and we are much cheaper. The Irish Times said IndiePendence is the best value music festival in the country and Hot Press said its the best line-up outside of Oxegen and Electric Picnic so who are we to argue,” Shane said.

While the special offer tickets represent good value for money, Shane warns that they are limited, with ticket sales picking up.

“Ticket sales were slow to start but have picked up steadily and we are only starting advertising this week. Online sales are good and the hits to the website are increasing every day.

"I guess a point of note for people in Mitchelstown is that the special offer tickets are limited to 1,000. There were 6 of them bought last Friday by a group of girls from Dublin who are coming for the weekend, heard about the special offer price and called on the way down to a weekend in West Cork.

"I would recommend that people locally pick up their tickets as soon as possible as they will sell out well in advance of the festival and Ticketmaster will not release anymore so once that 1,000 is gone, they are gone and there’s a good chunk of them gone already. I guess to add to that in relation to sales outside of Mitchelstown, it looks like we will sell in excess of 1,000 tickets online but accommodation is the main problem for these people at the moment,” he admits.

With accommodation being such a problem, could IndiePendence have had camping like competing festivals?

“If we had a campsite at this ticket price, I think the festival would be sold out by the end of June. It would be a great economic boost for the town but unfortunately, it’s not an option at the moment,” Shane said, and he gave his assurances that the new venue can facilitate the festival regardless of the weather.

“The surface there is pretty good so it will be well capable of taking a bit of rain. Two of the stages are also indoors as there is an 800 capacity Cyprus Avenue Tent and the Red Bull Village. At the end of the day though, it is a full blown music festival in a field so people should prepare accordingly keeping in mind that this is Ireland!” he joked.

In addition to the new stages, Shane revealed that there will be a dedicated on-site bar for main sponsors Bavaria.

“There are two festival bars on site that will be stocking Bavaria along with a number of other products. Festival goers will not be allowed to bring alcohol onsite but there will be a wide selection available and at a price comparable to what it is in the bars in Mitchelstown,” he explained.

The Chapters were the headline act of the launch night, giving a preview of their new debut album ‘Perfect Stranger’ and were supported by Mitchelstown’s The Vital Spark and Corkman Ian Whitty and some of his band the Exchange who played songs from the 2008 LP ‘Caller No. 9.’

The night also doubled as a launch for this year’s Beast of Ballyhoura challenge, and Padraig Casey was on hand to explain how preparations for the gruelling physical test is shaping up.